• Who believes Whom?
• What is considered Right?
• Who’s Right?
• Research carried out and settings within which
anthropologists work raise moral questions
about uses and abuses of our knowledge
• Any ideas as to why?
• Early on in the discipline, anthro’s documented
cultures that they assumed would disappear
due to illness, war, colonialism, etc…
• After colonialism ended (~1960’s), anthro’s
created a code of ethics to protect groups they
studied.
• Why is protection needed?
• 1. Who
will utilize anthropologists findings and
for what purpose?
• 2. Who decides what research questions are
asked and not asked?
• 3. Who, if anyone, will profit from this
research?
• Research on ethnic/religious minority whose
values may be at odds with dominant
mainstream society.
• Will government or corporate interests use
anthropologist’s data to suppress that group?
• Traditional communities around the world?
• 1. Who decides what changes should/should not
be introduced for communities betterment?
• 2. Who defines what constitutes betterment?
Community? Government? Organizations such as
WHO?
• 3. What are the limits of cultural relativism when
traditional practice is considered a human rights
abuse worldwide?
• Universities require anthropologists (just like
other researchers) to communicate in advance
the nature and potential impact of the planned
study to individuals who provide information
• They must obtain informed consent (formal
recorded agreement to participate in research)
• When informed consent is not obtainable:
• Protect identity of individual, family, or community
by altering names of subjects and location
• EX: Anton Blok
• Studied the Sicilian Mafia and could not obtain consent
(wonder why?)…Blok did not choose to disclose the
identity of anybody studied…probably a good
idea…for him.
• Anthropologists must do everything/anything in
their power to ensure their research does not
harm the safety, dignity, or privacy of the
people with whom they work, conduct research,
or perform other professional activities.
• 1. Do ancient remains belong to Anthropologists? People living
in the area? The finder?
• 2. Ancient remains are worth fortunes at times. How do we
protect areas from looting? Or even worse, damage to the
area?
• Globalization has been called a “doubleedged- sword”. How does it foster growth and
destruction at the same time?